Abstract

School social work (SSW) as a unique and specialized field of social work practice emerged in North America nearly 120 years ago. In the Canadian province of Ontario, the formal designation of ‘school social worker' has been used since 1945. Despite this rich history, little documentation exists about the development and context of SSW in Canada. The aim of this article is to stimulate and contribute to the emerging scholarly literature on SSW practice in Canadian K-12 public schools. The first half of the article provides a brief overview of the history of SSW, its emergence and organization within the Canadian and Ontario contexts. The latter half of the article introduces a practice framework for SSW in Ontario developed by the Association of Chief Social Workers - Ontario School Boards (ACSW-OSB) in 2019. The framework is discussed through the narrative reflections of six of the authors, all past or present members of the Ontario Association of Social Work (OASW) School Social Work Advisory Group (SSWAG), who represent a small convenience sample. A simple descriptive thematic analysis led to the development of four major themes: (1) the value of a practice framework for school social workers (SSWs) in Ontario; (2) the value of role integration and interprofessional practice; (3) the promise of SSW leadership; and (4) the critical importance of professional identity rooted in social work values and ethics. The article concludes with consideration of limitations and recommendations for future research and development of the framework.

Keywords: Canada, history, narrative research, Ontario, practice domain, practice framework, school social work

How to Cite:

Burosch, S., Fearing-Afflick, G., Athanasiou-Malisa, J., Fleck Saito, A., Grose, T., Harvey, G., Sherman, K. & Csiernik, R., (2026) “School Social Work in Ontario, Canada: History, Context, and Reflections on a Canadian Practice Framework”, International Journal of School Social Work . doi: https://doi.org/10.4148/ijssw.20938